What's a "genuine sufi order"? From what I know they can be quite different. So which would be the genuine one? What I found is that its very hard (for me atleast) to map or relate the theory you read in books to people. Everyone is in the order for a different reason I suppose, so everyone is more comfortable with what suits them most.

Yeah, Sheikh Nazim is in the third picture. The second picture is the entrance to his house.

I wasn't talking about theroies and books, from my very limited understanding of sufism you cant learn it just from reading about it or by intellectually analysing it .

Yes they can be from different backgrounds and thus folow different "paths" but what i meant by genuine is kind of hard to explain. I guess i hear of many supposedly sufi order who do nothing more than imitate what they believe to be sufi behaviour.

I'm not referring to this particular order, i know of them but that's it, i was just asking not making a statement.Good luck

Yeah, well to me theory/books are the logical explanation of an order because there's a spiritual level that they try to reach I guess, but its not out of the blue that they get there. Its by following a Way, a way of life and a way within yourself to "cleanse your heart" in order to experience that Divine Presence. How many get there, I don't know, but they're all at a certain level on the way I suppose.

But I wouldn't know how to judge an order as genuine though. You'll have to explain what you meant. Imitating? Sometimes you learn by imitating and repeating. I judge the limited group of people I saw according to my standards or according to the standards I read, but how good is my judgement? Overall though, I have mixed feelings about it.

I didn't get a chance to explore other Tariqas, do you have any links?

Look, i'm not the expert here so it would be like the blind leading the blind.

what i meant by imitating is this, you could for instance be keen to learn yoga so you go to this yogi only to find them obsessed with repitition and aesthetics and bell ringing and weird gowns and all this for the sake of it not for a specific purpose. Of course it comes down to your own personal judgement but imitators are those who imitate sufism in particular and lack the essence of sufism. Of course everyone would only see what they want to see and for some it would be perfect.

I'd absolutely hate to recommend and give you a link, but you said you have mixed feelings, why?

You could perhaps try reading something by Idries Shah, "al nafs al ammarah" and "sufi thought and action" are a good place to start.

Oh i just thought of the word i mean by imitators, y3ni zy el orders el b masr el feeha sha3waza more than sufism, or those that imitate the stereotype of sufis.I didn't really think you could learn sufism by repetition, or imitation, anything yes but not anything spiritual, don't you think?

Moulana Sheikh Nazim,leader of the Naqshabandi Order is a truely genuine sufi order.I have followed him for several years and I find him to be so humble & sincere servant of Allah.If you need to know about this order there are several websites you could go to and learn from them,Inshallah you will be enlightned through his sohbets.